Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Duke grads earn $14.6K more ten years out than Tufts's ($97,800 vs. $83,214)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Duke is 2.3× more selective than Tufts

    Acceptance rate
  3. 3

    Duke costs about $7.8K less per year on average than Tufts ($58,582 vs. $66,346, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  4. 4

    Duke's yield is 10 pts higher than Tufts's

    Yield rate
  5. 5

    Duke's grants cover 33% of its full price on average, vs. 25% at Tufts

    Aid generosity
  6. 6

    Duke's SAT midpoint is 45 points higher than Tufts's

    SAT midpoint

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

Duke admits 4.7%, Tufts 11%; Duke's yield is higher, at 59%.

Acceptance rate
Tufts11%
Duke4.7%
Quad's selectivity
  • TuftsHighly selective
  • DukeUltra selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1400–1600
Tufts
1460–1520
Duke
1510–1570
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • TuftsSchool record and prep program required
  • DukeRigor and GPA very important

Who's on each campus

Tufts and Duke are about the same size; Duke has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Tufts7.1K
Duke6.4K
Pell Grant share
Tufts12%
Duke14%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at Tufts, and Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke; Duke has 5 students per faculty member to Tufts's 10.

Students per faculty member
Tufts10 to 1
Duke5 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • TuftsComputer Science12%
  • DukeMulti-/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other15%

What each costs

Duke costs about $7.8K less a year than Tufts on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Tufts$66.3K
Duke$58.6K
Aid generosity
Tufts25%
Duke33%

What each pays off

Duke's former students earn more, a median $97.8K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 90% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Tufts$83.2K
Duke$97.8K
Graduation rate
Tufts94%
Duke97%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • TuftsGrowing+81%
  • DukeGrowing+64%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why